Galamsey, Water Destruction Activities To End By 2017- Water Resource Minister

The Minister for Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Adda has assured Ghanaians that activities the destroy water bodies in the country will all be stopped by the end of this year.

On the floor of the parliament house today, the minister pledged that the government is putting measures in place to make issues of water inaccessibility accessible to all Ghanaians by end of this year.

Activities that tend to destroy water bodies making some communities unable to access potable water are the illegal mining activities going on in some parts of the country.

Major water bodies such as Birim, Ankobra and Pra that provide water for purification to the Ghana Water Company have all been destroyed by this act.

The Head of Communications at the Ghana Water Company, Steve Mantey on Wednesday, gave an overview of water bodies in the some regions that have been polluted by illegal mining activities.

The company on the world water day today stated that River Pra, Daboase and River Ankobra which are the main water bodies in the region have been polluted.

The main water body in the Eastern Region that has been polluted is Birim, also plants in Kyebi, which were meant for water treatment had to be shut down due to pollution of the Birim River which is beyond treatment.

In the Greater Accra Region, the Densu River which extracts water specifically for Western Accra and situated around the Weija dam is polluted as a result of farming activities and industrial waste.

The Ghana Water Company has resorted to using chemicals to address this problem, he added.

The minister therefore called on Ghanaians to protect the few water bodies left in the country as the world marks world water day today.

The United Nations has designated March 22 as a day the world should remember the importance of water and its benefit to humans.

The theme for the 2017 celebration is Why wastewater?

Instead of wasting wastewater, we need to reduce and reuse it. In our homes, we can reuse greywater on our gardens and plots. In our cities, we can treat and reuse wastewater for green spaces. In industry and agriculture, we can treat and recycle discharge for things like cooling systems and irrigation.

Reports according to Top FMs Yesmeen Abubakar Tetteh from the house indicated that, the minister further added the impact of the climate change has also affected the quality of water we have.

This he said has led the country to spending more in treating polluted water for consumption but all will be rectified by end of this year.

The Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Hajia Alima Mahama adding her voice called on government to as a matter of urgency make portable water accessible to all due to its gradual killings of people.

She also changed MPs to halt galamsey processes going on in their constituencies so portable water can be accessible to all.